Jacob Hoefnagel

Jacob Hoefnagel (also 'Jacobus', 'Jakob' or 'Jakub") (1573 in Antwerp – c.1632 in Dutch Republic or Hamburg), was a Flemish painter, printmaker, miniaturist, draftsman, art dealer, diplomat, merchant and politician. He is noted for his illustrations of natural history subjects as well as his portraits, topographical views, emblems and mythological works.

Jacob Hoefnagel was the oldest son of Joris Hoefnagel (1545–1600), a Flemish painter and miniaturist employed successively by the dukes of Bavaria and Emperor Rudolph II in Prague. Unlike his father who was not trained professionally as an artist but had started out as a merchant in the family business in diamonds and luxury goods, Jacob was given the opportunity to study art under a master in Antwerp. He became a pupil of Abraham Liesaert in Antwerp. He then started a peripatetic life.

He was in Frankfurt am Main at the latest in 1592 where he joined his father who had remarried there after the death of Jacob's mother. He was in Regensburg in 1594 and Vienna in 1602. Here he married in 1605 with Anna, the daughter of the Dutch court architect Anthoni Muys (Anton de Mois). This was already his third marriage. Throughout his life Jacob Hoefnagel would marry five times. He also spent time in Prague and was in Rome in 1605. He is recorded in Prague in 1609 and again in Rome in 1610.

He was the court painter to Rudolf II in Prague from 1602 to 1613. In Prague he belonged to a circle of Flemish and Dutch merchants, artists and scholars, some of whom were Reformed, with close ties to the court of Rudolf II. He was a diplomat at the court at a time when Prague played a pivotal role in European affairs. In 1614 he obtained citizenship of Prague and married his fourth wife.

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